6 years after Sheen’s cause was shelved, could Illinois-born Pope Leo bring it back?

As holy Roman pontiff, Pope Leo XIV has the singular prerogative of advancing canonization causes and solemnly raising men and women to the glory of the altars.

Leo’s immediate predecessor, Pope Francis, canonized the most saints of any pontificate to-date with 942 (813 at one time when he declared the Martyrs of Otranto to be saints early in his pontificate). 

As with many aspects of his pontificate, Francis sometimes took an avante-garde approach to declaring saints, designating more saints by equivalent canonization — that is by papal fiat, without a requisite miracle — than any pope in modern history. 

Setbacks for Sheen’s cause

Some cases moved ahead with great speed, too, like that of St. Carlo Acutis, whose canonization took place Sept. 7, after having been postponed due to Pope Francis’ April 21 death. And yet others have experienced unorthodox setbacks — such as the cause of Venerable Fulton J. Sheen.

Sheen’s beatification had been scheduled for Dec. 21, 2019, in Peoria, Illinois, before its mysteriously postponement, a move that was both unusual but also scandalous, given the stage of the cause.

Could the church’s change in leadership at the top bring Sheen’s cause out of dormancy?

There is hope that Pope Leo might have a variety of reasons to be aware of and interested in rectifying the situation. Sheen and the former Cardinal Robert Prevost, now the first native-born American to occupy the see of Peter, are both sons of Illinois. 

A television phenomena

With Leo having grown up in baby booming American suburbia when Sheen was a television phenomenon and household name, it’s possible he even has a devotion to the TV evangelist. 

Additionally, with Leo’s emphasis on unity and an apparent bent toward overcoming polarization in the church, Sheen’s beatification could be seen as a much-needed opportunity to heal and divide a fractured church, especially in the land of his birth. The signs are hopeful.

Nearly six years after the planned beatification, there has been very little clarity on what happened to cause its extraordinary and surprise delay. Moving it ahead, and explaining what happened, could give Pope Leo a “win” in this first year of a pontificate clearly directed at building up the body of Christ in charity and truth.

Request for further examination

To-date, the only explanation offered by an ecclesiastical authority was from the Diocese of Rochester, New York, where Sheen served briefly as diocesan bishop. The diocese acknowledged its request for further examination of Sheen’s record on handling claims of abuse against some Rochester priests during his brief tenure as diocesan bishop there.

This request seemed to arise from concerns related to a statewide report then expected from New York’s attorney general relating to clergy sexual abuse. Nothing has surfaced whatsoever as that process is believed to be nearing a conclusion. After nearly six years, the Diocese of Rochester alone reached a settlement agreement Sept. 5 that established a $256.35 million fund for abuse survivors.  

Ongoing infighting between dioceses — namely Peoria and New York — over Sheen’s mortal remains might also be a contributing factor, one which Rome could solve rather easily, avoiding any potential additional legal disputes in American courts between a Sheen descent and the New York archdiocese, which wanted to retain Sheen’s body in the crypt of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan. It was the wish of Sheen’s family to see their uncle brought home to the Peoria cathedral where he discovered his priestly vocation and was ordained in 1920. 

Life of heroic virtue proven

The linchpin in the debate about postponing the beatification? That Sheen’s life of heroic virtue has been proven and a miracle attributed to his intercession has been authenticated. Pope Benedict XVI declared in 2012 that Sheen was worthy of veneration by the faithful, and the miracle paving the way to Sheen’s beatification was approved by Pope Francis in 2019. That miracle warrants and necessitates his beatification regardless of any behavior that may or may not be uncovered from Rochester or elsewhere. 

When a miracle is approved, but a cause is effectively put on ice — particularly in the way Sheen’s has been, with little transparency — what does that say about the church’s process of beatification? In a situation such as this, transparency and clarity from church leadership can help avoid unpleasant questions. 

Six years later, the delay of Sheen’s beatification remains a cause of concern for the whole church. Because despite the scandal surrounding the 2019 Beatification That Wasn’t, devotion to Sheen continues to grow, and he is continually celebrated and invoked as a man for our times.

A man worthy of veneration

There is hope that Pope Leo might be particularly concerned about how the faithful — who have been told Sheen was a man worthy of our veneration for his life of holiness and virtue — have been left in the dark as far as the current status of his cause is concerned.

There is also hope that other recent changes pertinent to Sheen’s legacy could help advance setting right the wrong. In Peoria, Bishop Louis Tylka recently renewed the Sheen Foundation Advisory Board, which had been inactive since 2019. And for decades, Sheen was national director of The Pontifical Mission Society in the United States. And his renown for occupying that position was and is legendary. As such, it is hopeful that Msgr. Roger Landry — a well-respected, non-ideological churchman of rising prominence, and growing media presence — has taken the reins of that organization, becoming successor to Sheen’s most prominent role in public ministry. (Msgr. Landry, it should be noted, is celebrating Mass Dec. 9 in New York on the 46th anniversary of Sheen’s death.) Perhaps he could be positioned well to take up the cause of continuing to advance Sheen’s rich legacy and see his beatification finally scheduled. 

Time will tell where all this will go. But as Pope Leo continues to identify priorities and actions that can help bring unity to the church, it seems to me that finally beatifying Sheen could be a significant win.

Michael R. Heinlein is author of “Glorifying Christ: The Life of Cardinal Francis E. George, O.M.I.” and a promised member of the Association of Pauline Cooperators.

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